6.6 Moving Non-Clustered Devices From NetWare 6.5 or OES NetWare to OES Linux

NSS supports moves of devices containing NSS volumes between any servers that support a compatible media format. For information, see Section 6.5.4, Guidelines for Moving Devices Cross-Platform.

To preserve the NSS pool and volumes on the device when you move it, you must modify the volumes’ Storage objects in eDirectory. You “decommission” the volume by removing its related Storage object from eDirectory for the original server. You “recommission” the volume by creating a new Storage object in eDirectory for the destination server. When moving clustered devices cross-platform, such as in a mixed cluster configuration, Novell Cluster Services automatically manages the Storage object updates to eDirectory.

NOTE:The “decommision” and “recommission” terminology is used only to illustrate the process; it does not represent a particular technology or tool.

IMPORTANT:Similar handling is necessary when moving devices with NSS pools between any two OES servers (NetWare - Linux, NetWare - NetWare, or Linux - Linux).

This section describes how to move devices cross platform from a NetWare 6.5 or later server to an OES Linux or later server:

6.6.1 Prerequisites

The prerequisites in this section apply to moving multiple devices from a NetWare 6.5 or later server to an OES Linux or later server.

IMPORTANT:When moving a non-clustered device, you must also move any other devices that contribute segments to the NSS pools on the device you are moving.

Compatibility Issues for Using NSS Volumes Cross-Platform

Before you begin, make sure you understand the Section 6.5, Compatibility Issues for Using NSS Cross-Platform.

Original NetWare 6.5 or OES NetWare Server

You can move NetWare 6.5 NSS media to an OES Linux and later server if they share the same NSS media format. NSS for OES Linux or later servers do not support the new media format of NetWare 6.5 SP4 and OES SP1 NetWare.

IMPORTANT:Do not upgrade the media format of any NSS volumes on the device you want to move to the new NSS media format after upgrading the server operating system to NetWare 6.5 SP4 or OES SP1 NetWare.

For information, see Section 5.1, Guidelines for Upgrading the Media Format of NSS Volumes on NetWare.

Destination OES Linux Server

NSS must be installed on an EVMS-managed device on the destination server. For information, see Installing Linux with EVMS as the Volume Manager of the System Device in the OES Linux Installation Guide.

6.6.2 Setting Up File Access For Users on the OES Linux Server

Before or after you move an NSS volume from NetWare to Linux, you need to set up file access for users on the OES Linux server.

Set Up Users in eDirectory

The original server and the destination server can be in the same or different eDirectory trees.

If the destination server is in the same tree as the original server, the file system trustees and trustee rights continue to work after the move.

If the destination server is in a different tree, use eDirectory to enable or reassign affected users for access in the destination tree. For information, see the Novell eDirectory 8.7.3 Administration Guide .

Set Up Protocols and Services

To provide access for users on the OES Linux server, do one or more of the following, depending on your network environment:

  • NCP Server and Services: Install and configure NCP Server to allow the users to access the volume with the Novell Client or other NCP services. For information, see the NCP Server for Linux Administration Guide .

  • Other Protocols and Services: Install and configure other protocols, such as Samba (CIFS), NFS, or AFP, and enable users with Linux User Management to allow the users to access the volume with the non-NCP protocols and to execute Linux commands and services on the volume.

    In this case, if you want to preserve file ownership, such as for configuring and enforcing user space quotas after the move, you must perform this configuration before you move the devices.

    For information about enabling users for Linux, see the Novell Linux User Management Technology Guide .

For guidelines about users and access, see Section 6.3, Access Control Issues for NSS on OES Linux.

6.6.3 Decommissioning Each NSS Pool and Its Volumes on the Original Server

For each NSS pool, decommission the pool and its volumes from the original server.

  1. If you use non-NCP protocols or Linux services for user access on the destination OES Linux server, you must Linux-enable the current users of the volumes before you move the devices if you want file ownership information to be usable after the move, such as for enforcing user space restrictions on a volume.

    IMPORTANT:If you use only NCP Server and NCP services for user access, this step is not necessary.

    Use one of the following methods to Linux-enable users of the volumes on the device where you want to preserve file ownership information:

    • To enable multiple users at once, use the nambulkadd command.

      User IDs are automatically refreshed after the enabling process ends.

    • To enable a single user at a time, use iManager.

    For information, see the Novell Linux User Management Technology Guide .

  2. Deactivate the pool on the device.

    1. In iManager, click Roles and Tasks Roles and Tasks Icon.

    2. Click Storage>Pools.

    3. Browse to select the original server where the NSS pool resides.

    4. Select the pool you want to decommission, then click Deactivate.

  3. Remove the eDirectory Storage objects for the NSS pool and each of its volumes.

    1. In iManager, click Roles and Tasks Roles and Tasks Icon.

    2. Click eDirectory Administration>Delete Object.

    3. Specify the name and context of the object or objects you want to delete.

    4. Click OK.

  4. Repeat Step 2 and Step 3 for each pool on the devices you plan to move.

  5. If you are using DFS in the tree where the original server is located, run the vldb repair command.

    On the primary VLDB server, at the command prompt, enter

    vldb repair

    This removes a GUID entry for each of the decommissioned volumes from the VLDB.

  6. Remove or reallocate the devices from the original server. Depending on your storage configuration, this might require a server shutdown.

6.6.4 Recommissioning Each NSS Pool and Its Volumes on the Destination Server

For each NSS pool, recommission the pool and its volumes on the destination server.

  1. Relocate or reassign the devices to the destination server.

  2. Reboot the destination server to mount the devices.

  3. If a pool on the devices you moved is not automatically activated, activate the pool.

    1. In iManager, click Roles and Tasks Roles and Tasks Icon.

    2. Click Storage>Pools.

    3. Browse to select the destination server.

    4. Select the pool, then click Activate.

  4. Create the eDirectory Storage objects for the NSS pool and each of its volumes.

    1. In iManager, click Roles and Tasks Roles and Tasks Icon.

    2. Click Storage>Pools.

    3. Browse to select the destination server.

    4. Select the pool, then click Update eDirectory.

    5. In the lower right, select View Volume Details to view all volumes on the selected pool.

      iManager opens to the Volumes page with the server and pool preselected.

    6. For each volume in the selected pool, select the volume, then click Update eDirectory.

    7. Repeat Step 4.d through Step 4.f for each NSS pool and its volumes.

  5. Allow the eDirectory tree to stabilize.

    This can take several minutes.

  6. Run the vldb repair command.

    On the primary VLDB server, at the command prompt, enter

    vldb repair

    This adds a GUID entry for each of the recommissioned volumes to the VLDB. Having the GUIDs in the VLDB allows you to create DFS junctions on NetWare servers that point to the volumes on the Linux machine. You cannot create a DFS junction on an NSS volume on Linux. If the device you moved contains an NSS volume with a DFS junction in it, you cannot follow the existing junction while the volume is on a Linux server.

6.6.5 Using Scripts to Decommission and Recommission NSS Volumes

Scripts are available to automate the process of decommissioning and recommissioning NSS volumes that are not cluster-enabled, see Decommissioning Script and Recommissioning Script for Moving NSS Volumes Cross-Platform. This decom_recom.zip file contains two Perl scripts:

  • decom.pl: The decommissioning script deactivates the specified pool, removes eDirectory Storage objects for a specified NSS pool and each of its volumes on the original server, then it repairs the VLDB, if it exists, to remove the volumes’ information from the VLDB. You provide the pool name, and the script automatically gets the list of volumes on the pool.

  • recom.pl: The recommissioning script activates the specified pool, creates eDirectory Storage objects for a specified NSS pool and each of its volumes on the destination server, then it repairs the VLDB, if it exists, to add the volumes’ information to the VLDB. You provide the pool name, and the script automatically gets the list of volumes on the pool.

The scripts support moving NSS volumes on OES NetWare or NetWare 6.5 SP3 to OES Linux. You can modify the scripts to move volumes between any two non-clustered OES servers:

  • NetWare to Linux

  • Linux to NetWare

  • NetWare to NetWare

  • Linux to Linux

Decommissioning NSS Pools on the Original Server with decom.pl

For each NSS pool, decommission the pool and its volumes from the original server.

  1. If you use non-NCP protocols or Linux services for user access on the destination OES Linux server, you must Linux-enable the current users of the volumes before you move the devices if you want file ownership information to be usable after the move, such as for enforcing user space restrictions on a volume.

    IMPORTANT:If you use only NCP Server and NCP services for user access, this step is not necessary.

    Use one of the following methods to Linux-enable users of the volumes on the device where you want to preserve file ownership information:

    • To enable multiple users at once, use the nambulkadd command.

      User IDs are automatically refreshed after the enabling process ends.

    • To enable a single user at a time, use iManager.

    For information, see the Novell Linux User Management Technology Guide .

  2. For each NSS pool on the device you are moving, run the decom.pl script and specify the name of the pool to decommission.

  3. Remove or reallocate the devices from the original server. Depending on your storage configuration, this might require a server shutdown.

Recommissioning NSS Pools on the Destination Server with recom.pl

For each NSS pool, recommission the pool and its volumes on the destination server.

  1. Relocate or reassign the devices to the destination server.

  2. Reboot the destination server to mount the devices.

  3. For each NSS pool on the device you moved, run the recom.pl script and specify the name of the pool to recommission.